What is Polygon/Matic?

Matic is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, implemented as a side chain. The PoS bridge can be simplified to a lock/unlocking mechanism where tokens are locked on Ethereum then are minted on Matic. To return these funds to Ethereum's main chain, the tokens are burnt on Matic and unlocked on Ethereum.

What does this mean for miners?

Receiving payouts on the Matic protocol doesn't make sense if your goal is strictly to maximize ETH, as the PoS chain requires two transactions, one made using Matic for the fee to initiate the transfer, and one on the Ethereum chain to confirm the transaction.

However, that ignores a few important things. ETH has had extreme price fluctuations recently, so if you wanted store your profits in stablecoin, using a Layer 2 DEX is much cheaper per transaction and you benefit from the more frequent payouts.

With that in mind, to actually convert to fiat, you need to go through a centralized exchange, which most if not all are only on Layer 1 at the time of writing.

How do I get started with Matic?

To import the chain into Metamask, follow the documentation:  Matic on Metamask.  Alternatively, you can visit QuickSwap, click switch to Matic and allow it to import the network for you. From there, you can visit the fountain to get a small amount of Matic in order to make transactions.